Increasingly, health-conscious consumers have been wearing various types of health ornaments in recent years, and the market is inundated with products claiming to promote health or cure various maladies. These health products cover many categories, including clothing such as underwear, ornaments such as bracelets and rings, linens, footwear, step-on-type foot massagers, foods and beverages, and various exercise goods, which are commonly used in daily life and for which the demand is expected to grow.
The health-promoting and/or therapeutic effects of products using the lines of magnetic force (magnetism) generated by magnets, far-infrared radiation and electromagnetic waves produced by ceramics, elemental materials such as carbon and germanium, raw materials such as natural minerals and gold/silver foils, functional waters such as a water, and tourmaline, are also reported.
Some of these products, however, apparently lack the health-promoting/therapeutic effects they claim to provide or fail to substantiate such claims. Moreover, there are products that offer little efficacy, take a long time to achieve results, cannot maintain the results for a significant period, or work only under limited conditions. Some are found to accompany various problems, including side effects like cutaneous allergic reaction or an unpleasant feeling when worn. Others are sold for exorbitant amounts of money or are cumbersome to use.
Titanium is a relatively new discovery compared with iron and steel, which have been in use since ancient times. But due to its lightness, excellent strength at high temperatures and superb corrosion resistance, titanium is currently used in numerous fields. In particular, it is widely used as the metal for structural members of aircraft, heat exchangers, etcetera. Titanium is also used in ornaments such as eyeglass frames, golf clubs and other sporting/exercise equipment, medical/dental materials, and so on.
The bio-activation effect and electromagnetic action of metallic titanium, which are known to promote blood circulation and provide other health benefits, are drawing considerable attention of late, and the use of titanium in this field of application has become a hot research topic. Titanium is expected to offer an excellent material for new health-promoting/therapeutic products that will resolve various problems that their conventional counterparts have been unable to help.
As a representative application technology of metallic titanium for ornaments and items for daily use, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1996-322695 describes bed clothing that applies the principle of electron path to a porous ceramic material containing one of 26 elements, including titanium, to improve one's physical condition while sleeping. In this specification, titanium is mentioned only as one of the 26 elements, and the invention doesn't use titanium as a new material.
In Registered Japanese Utility Model No. 3045835 (1997), a health band of a simple, multiple-layer structure is described, consisting of top and bottom layers that sandwich an intermediate layer in which titanium or a new, titanium-based material such as titanium compound is diffused. It is claimed that the band, which is wrapped around the wrist or ankle, promotes health as the new titanium material promotes blood circulation and metabolism, while preventing the eczema and itchiness associated with allergic reaction to metallic substances because the titanium material has no direct contact with the skin.
In Registered Japanese Utility Model No. 3061466, health slippers consisting of a core material molded in the shape of the human sole, and a curved or projected piece attached to the top of the core material to contact the acupuncture points in the sole of the foot, are described. Colored fabric is bonded to the surface of attached piece using an adhesive containing titanium or a titanium-based material such as titanium compound. The edges of the slipper are raised all around to accommodate the entire foot up to the heel. This product claims to promote blood circulation in the sole of the foot by stimulating the acupuncture points by the curved or projected piece. It is also claimed that the slippers can be manufactured at low cost. However, the actual effects are not satisfactory.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1999-285543, a health-maintenance device is described. It consists of a sintered part made through the partial reduction of titanium oxide, and a semiconductor film formed on its surface. In Registered Japanese Utility Model No. 3068810 (2000), a stylish fashion ring claiming to offer health benefits is described. It consists of a ring or bracelet made through vulcanized forming from a mixture of rubber-molding material, amber powder and titanium-oxide powder, with its outer groove fitted with a ring-shaped piece colored with luminous paint.
New materials based on metallic titanium, as described in these published technologies, are employed in ornaments and items for daily use for the purpose of providing health ornaments that offer superior benefits relative to those of conventional health ornaments by utilizing the bio-activation effect and electromagnetic action of metallic titanium, which are known to promote blood circulation and provide other health benefits. However, the titanium compounds used in the above technologies don't offer sufficient health-promoting function or a pleasant feeling when such ornaments are worn. Additionally, the ornaments haven't been able to provide the level of efficacy expected by the user, even when titanium in an uncompounded, elemental form is used.